Support Vanessa's Fight Against Lyme Disease Our beloved family member, Vanessa Boyd, is 28 years old and has recently been diagnosed with late stage Lyme disease (a debilitating tick-borne illness), after suffering with progressive symptoms and being misdiagnosed for the last 12 years. Because her condition went undiagnosed for so. . . . .

Support Vanessa's Fight Against Lyme Disease

Our beloved family member, Vanessa Boyd, is 28 years old and has recently been diagnosed with late stage Lyme disease (a debilitating tick-borne illness), after suffering with progressive symptoms and being misdiagnosed for the last 12 years. Because her condition went undiagnosed for so long, the disease has spread to her brain, heart and central nervous system. Her symptoms became so severe last year that she had to give up her career as a civil engineer, and is now unable to live a normal life. Due to neurological symptoms, Vanessa can no longer watch TV, read, drive, or go to visually stimulating environments such as supermarkets and city centres. To name a few, she suffers with regular seizures, visual vertigo, heart palpitations, breathing problems loss of feeling in her limbs and face, blurred vision, and chronic neuropathic pain.

The NHS is not equipped or able to adequately treat this disease and are unable to offer Vanessa any more help other than symptom management. She has therefore gone to seek treatment from a specialist and pioneer of Lyme disease research, in the USA.

Vanessa expected to stay for only a few weeks, receive a treatment plan and return to the UK. However, due to the progression of the disease and the damage it has done to her brain, Doctors have recommended extensive treatment with intravenous antibiotics for at least 7-9 months. Specialists anticipate a favourable outcome following treatment in Vanessa's case.

The cost of the medical treatment alone is in excess of £60,000. Vanessa has used her life savings and her partner, Laura, has given up her career to help care for her while she is on treatment in the US. We want to help them! We hope, with your help, to raise money towards the cost of this treatment that Vanessa so desperately needs.

Until recently Vanessa faced the prognosis of her health continuing to deteriorate, and becoming increasingly disabled over time. The treatment plan gives her the chance to stop the progression of the disease, and get her life back.

Any contribution you can make however large or small will make a difference.

Thank you so much!

Please take a moment to sign this government petition which calls for the development of accurate NHS tests and effective treatment protocols for Lyme disease:

Our beloved family member, Vanessa Boyd, is 28 years old and has recently been diagnosed with late stage Lyme disease (a debilitating tick-borne illness), after suffering with progressive symptoms and being misdiagnosed for the last 12 years. Because her condition went undiagnosed for so long, the disease has spread to her brain, heart and central nervous system. Her symptoms became so severe last year that she had to give up her career as a civil engineer, and is now unable to live a normal life. Due to neurological symptoms, Vanessa can no longer watch TV, read, drive, or go to visually stimulating environments such as supermarkets and city centres. To name a few, she suffers with regular seizures, visual vertigo, heart palpitations, breathing problems loss of feeling in her limbs and face, blurred vision, and chronic neuropathic pain.

The NHS is not equipped or able to adequately treat this disease and are unable to offer Vanessa any more help other than symptom management. She has therefore gone to seek treatment from a specialist and pioneer of Lyme disease research, in the USA.

Vanessa expected to stay for only a few weeks, receive a treatment plan and return to the UK. However, due to the progression of the disease and the damage it has done to her brain, Doctors have recommended extensive treatment with intravenous antibiotics for at least 7-9 months. Specialists anticipate a favourable outcome following treatment in Vanessa's case.

The cost of the medical treatment alone is in excess of £60,000. Vanessa has used her life savings and her partner, Laura, has given up her career to help care for her while she is on treatment in the US. We want to help them! We hope, with your help, to raise money towards the cost of this treatment that Vanessa so desperately needs.

Until recently Vanessa faced the prognosis of her health continuing to deteriorate, and becoming increasingly disabled over time. The treatment plan gives her the chance to stop the progression of the disease, and get her life back.

Any contribution you can make however large or small will make a difference.

Thank you so much!

Please take a moment to sign this government petition which calls for the development of accurate NHS tests and effective treatment protocols for Lyme disease:

Proudly funded by

Anonymous

Thank you so much for your amazing support over the last few months. We have been blown away with the amount of help and generosity we have seen from people.

Since I arrived in the US for treatment, we have been staggered with the amount of support from people who want to help me and my family raise money for the medical costs for the treatment of Lyme disease. This potentially life saving treatment was the only option for my family and me.

I am about to start month three of treatment and things are going to ramp up. With this treatment, things get worse before they get better. We are getting through it day by day, with the help of some of the most amazing doctors I have ever met. They expect to see steady improvements over the coming months and years, so fingers crossed!

I’m sure you’ve all noticed that my sister, Maria Robinson has been on a Lyme disease awareness and fundraising campaign ‘Lymelight4Vanessa’. What an incredible job she is doing! The fundraising page has now reached over £4,000.

There are some brilliant fundraising nights planned, as well as individual efforts to raise some cash. Here is a list of events:

- Fundraising night @ Hilltop Sports & Social Club, Dronfield on 18th February organised by my sister, Maria. This is sure to be a great night with 4 entertainment acts (drummed up by Howard Copley), all giving up their free time. There will be a raffle and auction hosed by Peak FM's Craig Bailey and Jon Chubb with prizes donated by too many local businesses to name, as well as from Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday and Chelsea Football Clubs. Tickets are £10 and can be purchased from Hill Top Sports & Social Club, Coffee Central and The Manor House.

- Fundraising night @ Mint Leaf Indian Restaurant, Dronfield on 29th February, organised by my friends Katy Snell and Alex Snell. Mint Leaf are doing a delicious three course meal at £12 per person, £7 of which will go to the Lymelight4Vanessa fund. Night to include vocalist and auction/ raffle.

- Family Fun Day @ The Pioneer Club in Dronfield on 20th March with a children’s fashion show organised by The Shoe Loft and entertainment for the kids from Dronfield's Music with Mummy.

- My friend, Helen Bidwell is running the London Marathon on 24th April.

- My cousin, Tracey Morris is cycling 50 miles in one day. Date to be confirmed.

- My cousin, Julie Boyd did an intensive exercise regime everyday in December for 24 days and raised £600.

- My school friends, Elizabeth Benson and Louise Stannard are doing the Dronfield 10k in March.

- My Brother in Law, Luke Robinson, along with my friends Anna Hibberd, Ben Owen and Jessica Burns are doing the Sheffield half Marathon on 10th April 2015, which is also my birthday!

- My friends Maggie Nunn and Bill Cotton are cycling part of the Tour De France route on a Tandem! They will pedal (largely uphill) to Alpe d’Huez and Mont Ventoux in aid of Lymelight4Vanessa.

- My friend, Faye Bartholomew is a holding a cake sale. More details to come.

- Abbeys Younique Makeup have a special offer on 3D Fibre Lash Mascara with a donation of £4 for every purchase going toward Lymelight4Vanessa between now and 10th February.

- There is a fundraising night being held at the Akademy Gym in Dronfield on 12th March, by Fallon Dana Marlow and Andy Marlow to include a raffle entertainment and Younique makeup stand. More details to come.

- My Nephew, Jack Boyd, who is just 9 years old, wants to do a fundraising event and is currently in discussions with his head teacher at Eckington Junior School <3

Thank you to Rachel Mason and John for all your hard work with producing logos tickets and setting up and managing the lymelight4vanessa twitter account.

Thank you to all my family and friends who are helping behind the scenes. You’re all #lymewarriors now.

We have also been working hard to raise awareness about Lyme disease. My story has been published in The Sheffield Star, The Mirror, The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Huffington Post UK and even the Turkish News! My sister, Maria, was on BBC Radio Sheffield in January talking about my 12-year misdiagnosis and ongoing battle.

Hopefully this will help towards raising GP awareness and highlight the need for early diagnosis and better treatment options for thousands like me, with late stage disease. We have had people from all over the world contacting us about Lyme disease asking for advice, proving the desperate need for change.

Thank you to everyone who is helping me and my family fight for my life. You really don’t know how much it means to us.

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed so far, there are some amazing donations and gifts from local businesses. It's overwhelming to read all the supportive comments and see so many faces from school and previous places I've worked supporting me. I've started phase 2 of my treatment and I've been told that an already rough ride is about to get even rougher. I think I'm ready though 😁 I'll keep you all updated with my progress X

Thinking of you all battling this terrible disease. I find it traumatic just reading your blogs and cannot begin to comprehend the severity of your suffering. How you've all coped so far I do not know!! I just hope things get easier for you all soon. Keep smiling!!

Hi everyone,Thank you so much for your amazing support over the last few months. We have been blown away with the amount of help and generosity we have seen from people.Since I arrived in the US for treatment, we have been staggered with the amount o…

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed so far, there are some amazing donations and gifts from local businesses. It's overwhelming to read all the supportive comments and see so many faces from school and previous places I've worked suppor…

Customer Happiness

Press & Resources

GoGetFunding is a crowdfunding website that lets you raise money for anything that matters to you. From personal causes and events to projects and more. We've helped people from all over the world raise millions online.

We use cookies. By continuing to use GoGetFunding, you're agreeing to our Use of Cookies.